MORE than half the residents who filled out forms at the 2018 annual town meeting in Courtenay Street in April (38 out of 64), when asked What do you like about Newton Abbot? replied ‘its excellent range of shops and eateries and a clean and vibrant town centre’.
The accessibility of the town centre was praised by 14, the Newton’s Place project by 11 and 13 went for the heart-warming ‘Everything!’ Those things not liked, in descending order, were (unsurprisingly) traffic congestion and roadworks, no central post office, excess development without supporting infrastructure and too many charity shops. When asked what they would like to happen in the town, questionnaire-fillers’ replies ranged from improved markets and a new centralised post office to more independent and diverse shops.
Town Mayor 2017-18 Cllr Anne Jones is pictured with part of the town meeting team, including her then deputy Cllr Ken Purchase, meeting the public at the well-attended stall.
THE minor injuries unit at Newton Abbot Hospital is to be upgraded as part of a £13 million fillip for Torbay and South Devon NHS Trust, its slice of a £760 million Government cash injection to the service nationally. New urgent care centres will be developed by the trust in Newton Abbot (as well as Torbay), giving the town more diagnostic facilities to provide a wider range of emergency services. Meanwhile, the hospital’s industrious league of friends has raised a staggering £19,732 for disabled persons’ charity Hannahs, based at Ivybridge and Seale-Hayne, which is being used to fund a hoist changing room, mobile hoist and defibrillator, a shower trolley and wheelchair clamps.
THE 2017 winner of the annual Shopmobility Challenge organised by the town’s community transport association was won by local Co-op bank manager Lewis Ashford, pictured receiving his trophy from Brian Heathman and Jason Bell. The 45-minute race involves a trip around the town centre undertaking tasks and answering questions.
The association received a new wheelchair- friendly vehicle in November courtesy of fundraising by the Newton Abbot Hospital League of Friends. Money for the Peugeot, used to take clients to medical appointments, exercise classes, shopping and social meetings, was collected through various HLF events. The CTA, that also provides mobility scooters for disabled town centre shoppers, is based in offices at the multi-storey car park in Sherburne Road under manager Kay Yendall and is open Mon-Fri 9am- 5pm and Sat 9.30am-1.30pm. Contact 01626 335775,
manager@newtonabbotcta.org,
http://www.newtonabbotcta.org.
ONE of the highlights of Wolborough Street is the popular Austins toy store, packed with a huge range of temptations from Sylvanian Families, Schleich, Hasbro, Mattel, Barbie, Nerf, Lego, Playmobil, and VTech. It is one of the largest independent toys outlets in the South West and its attractions were reflected recently by comments from an overwhelmed family from Hampshire. Mother: ‘It’s amazing; I could easily have spent an hour in there.’ Father: ‘I think it’s bigger than Harrods toy department!’
NEWTON ABBOT TOWN GUIDE 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65
